About love and calamities
by Gabo97
Summary: After several years of being between life and death, Mavis keeps wandering upon Zeref's path, hoping that he would return to be the kind man she once loved. But when she found out his ominous plans to end his own life, she can't stay like that. Just a little conversation between the two former lovers and how their path begin to divide.


**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own these characters, or the story this fic is based on; Mavis Vermillion, Zeref Dragneel and Natsu Dragneel are property of Hiro Mashima-sensei (A.k.a Hiro Trollshima HAHAHA).

 **ALSO:** **SPOILER ALERT.** **IF YOU DON'T FOLLOW THE MANGA, READ THIS UNDER YOUR OWN RISK.**

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 **About love and calamities…**

"I don't understand" Mavis spoke softly, as usual, her eyes widening in surprise.

Her tiny, dainty frame appeared just behind the boy.

Even if he wasn't able to see her silhouette, he felt her in the air. And even if he wasn't able to hear her voice, he knew, deep inside that she was talking to him, asking about what was in front of him.  
"So you're here" the black wizard didn't bother to turn around. His words just spill out his mouth with no emotion, nor concern.

Unlike the youngster, Mavis could see him, hear him and watch the things he was doing. And what he was doing at that moment, made her feel dread.

Mavis always knew Zeref was dangerous, but this was awful enough to frighten the girl "You once told he was dead" she spoke, slowly, trying to keep herself together "You said he died centuries ago, Zeref..."

The boy didn't change his posture, still, a little, calm smile poked on his lips as he talked in a gentle, velvety voice "I didn't lie. I'd never. Not to you, at least".

"Then what-"

"My brother _actually_ died a few years after his birth" he explained in that distant and nostalgic tone that she would always recognize "But, you see... I brought him back to life"  
The girl sketched an horrified look at her former fugacious lover's words "You brought him back to life" she repeated, her eyes empty, and it seemed like something in her voice shattered into pieces.  
"I'm sure I've already told you about that. Of how much I've been seeking to meet him again."

"This-" Mavis took a small step towards the wizard, unaware of her own movements "Zeref, you _can't_ bring someone back to life once they die..."

"I already did it" he replied, nonchalantly "I was just… waiting for the best moment..."  
Mavis took a new step closer. Her little hand unconsciously approached unto the mage's back, as if she wanted to comfort him, but nevertheless she stopped that motion, aware that he would not be able to feel her touch, anyway. Besides, at that point, Mavis should not forget that Zeref was a threat to humanity...

But even if that was true, the girl wasn't able to forget the sadness in his deep, dark eyes. She didn't want to.

"What do you mean?" she asked, cautiously.

Zeref then finally turned his back to what he was doing, finding himself -not to his surprise- completely _alone.  
_ So he just gave a slight smile to himself, mocking his own senses for having the hope of seeing her again.  
She was _dead._

Dead, since so many years ago that he had already stopped counting.

Still, he allowed himself to answer, as if she was actually there, talking to him. He liked to think she was there, at his side, even if she wasn't alive anymore.

"I devoted my life to this moment, Mavis" he murmured, with a nostalgic gaze.  
The girl stayed there, listening to his story with a concerned look in her face; if only she had been able to save him, if only she had loved him enough…that idea couldn't go away from her mind since the day she parted from life.

"First it was because I wanted to see my brother again" he explained, somehow getting to focus his glance in her precise direction "I spent my whole youth searching for an answer, seeking for explanations, and ways to resurrect his childish body..." he smiled "He was just as pure and innocent as you were once, when I met you..." for a second, the wizard seemed to hesitate.

As the conversation progressed, so did his memories and that gross, painful emptiness that often eclipsed his putrid heart.

His serene smile twitched just a little, fast enough to hide his current ominous mood from himself. But not from the ethereal presence of the girl, who glimpse that lugubrious change in his visage.

"But my research didn't last long" he sentenced, calmly "As it was expected by everyone, my actions finally provoked Ankhseram's wrath, which resulted in me causing the devastation in my birthplace."

Mavis just listened silently, sadness remaining in her green eyes; she always knew that Zeref had suffered much more than herself. She couldn't even imagine how much misery he had been through along so many years he spent all alone, with his curse.

She wanted to say something to him… she wanted to let him know how much she cared, how much she wished to be with him, but she abstained. It wouldn't make anything different.

Instead, she just stilled quiet.

"The following years were the loneliest and darkest in my existence" his smile faded a bit as he said "Well, it was long before losing you..." Zeref started to walk across the place in a slow pace "I spent decades wandering. I tried everything, Mavis; I starved myself, just as you did. I threw myself from huge cliffs… I attempted every single way to die. But nothing worked." He sighed, maybe trying to maintain composure "Even now, so many years later…"

The sorcerer bent his body in pain and frustration. He could feel it… the death rattle was approaching… the contradiction was about to take his sanity from him. _"Please, don't"_ he begged internally _"Not now… not now, please!"_ He didn't want her to leave again. Because she always left when he lost control.

Mavis approached a little more when she saw that. She knew what that meant… but she hated it. 'Cause every time that happened, Zeref wasn't himself anymore. He became something evil and sinful and even his eyes changed… she was selfish, she knew that, but when she looked at him like that, her frozen heart seemed to broke into a million pieces.

"Zeref, stop it" she commanded, sternly.

But the wizard didn't change his torn posture. Moreover, he settled his hands on his head, holding tightly "I-…." He tried to respond "Mavis… don't- don't go" he ordered, in a gasp.

She remained apparently calmed, even if she was terrified "I won't" she stated, firmly "But you have to tell me, Zeref. You _must_ tell me the meaning of… _this"_ she said, giving a horrified stare at whatever that was in front of them.

The raven-haired fought a little more with his curse and finally got to gain some extra time "I realized the truth, Mavis" he claimed, still hunched, hands steadily pressing his head, and his eyes half-turning red "I wouldn't be able to die by myself; I needed… _need_ something… _someone_ to accomplish that chore for me."

The blonde then remembered.

That last conversation they shared when she was still alive.

" _I've created these demons called the etherious and gave them powers beyond those of human capabilities so that they could be the ones that'll end me…"_

"You're talking about the etherious, right?" she asked, not so sure about those creatures's name he mentioned then.

Zeref smiled archly "So you remember…" he whispered.

"You also said something about… a country" she struck.

"Oh my… Maybe I rebel too much at that time" Zeref's voice acquired a playful tone.

Mavis knew the evilness was near to take Zeref away from her. She needed to hurry.

"I don't get it. What does that have to do with this? I thought the etherious were some kind of… demons, or monsters, but-

"You're not wrong" he clarified, the scarlet in her eyes increasing more and more "They are indeed _monsters_. And right now, you're in front of my greatest creation."

Mavis's eyes widened full of dread. Much for her dismay, the suppositions that ran through her head the moment she saw that little, helpless body inside that capsule, were worse than she could expect.

"Zeref!" she shouted, authority pouring from his voice.

The aforementioned broadened his malicious grin, his eyes now completely red "Don't overreact, Mavis. Isn't this what we both pursued once? A way to get freed from this…"

"This is not the way-"

"SHUT UP!" his voice rose fiercely.

When the girl looked at the man she once loved, the only thing she could find was a vague outline. The gentleness and warmth inside his eyes were gone. In that moment, Mavis glimpsed that horrid Black Wizard whom the rumors talked about. She recognized in the redness of his eyes, the clash of Ankhseram.

She gave a step back, horrified at the look of that situation.

The wizard stayed right where he was, feeling the anger and hatred consuming his doomed soul "You have no idea… YOU HAVE NO IDEA OF WHAT I'VE LIVED… OF WHAT I'VE SEEN!" he roared.

The corners of Mavis's lips descended tensely, as his eyes filled with tears. In fact, she had no idea. She'd never know all the suffering his heart had experienced. She probably would never understand the hopelessness that ages of immortality can cause in a soul.

She just lived for twenty four years. Even if she knew what despair was, it could never be compared to the agony of living like that since who knows when.

But there was something she knew.

The thing Zeref had done was completely outrageous and unfair.

"And you're planning to use this kid to stop your own pain." She stated, serenely.

Zeref flew into rage "I thought you would be the one to understand" he reproached, her voice howling "That you, _of all people_ would be able to understand!"

"I can't understand" she asserted, harshness staining her voice "I don't want to understand why you committed such a calamity".

"You can't condemn me like that" Zeref accused, frenzied " _YOU_ who got free from this just like that!"

The tears began to pour down her cheeks, silently. Even if he wasn't looking, even if he wasn't hearing her voice, it mattered. It mattered a lot to both of them.

"I didn't choose that" Mavis spoke, in a soft, plaintive voice "You know I didn't."

Zeref took a deep breath before answering "Yeah, but you _did_ die. You did it and that was the end of your curse" he looked the empty space where he believed the girl was, as if he were actually staring at her "But me? I had to continue living without you. Funny, isn't it? I had lived on my own for such a long time, and after a while I found it devious to live in a world where you were no more…"

"You've been planning this much before we met" she accused, still weeping.

"I did" he admitted, getting to recover his calm. It was unusual for him to lose composure like that. He'd never liked to, even as a child. He always preferred to keep repair. But when it came to Mavis, he couldn't help it; she always brought out behaviors and emotions on him he was not familiar to.

Mavis took a new step forward "Why him? He is your baby brother! You are supposed to love him-

"I love him" he ensured, sharply "That's why it has to be him"

The blonde didn't retort anything at that moment.

"Tell me something, Mavis" he enquired inquisitively "You liked the way you died?"

Mavis said nothing, expecting Zeref to explain himself.

After a while, he spoke again, quietly, almost hissing "The way your life ended. If you could _choose_ a way to die… would you change the one that happened to you?"

The girl stood there, not talking, not moving at all, just letting Zeref's words to enter her mind and gradually germinate.

She never thought about that before.

Or maybe she did, but at that point, she didn't allow herself to avow it. It only would make the whole situation more tangled than it already was. And she didn't need that. Not after what he had found out.

The truth, deep inside her heart was that she actually had liked the way she died. Maybe it was childish and silly, but she thought it was accurate to her; dying after a love kiss, what a tragedy. What a novelettish way to leave this world.

She had been satisfied to end like that, in Zeref's arms.

The only thing she regretted was never being able to say goodbye to her friends, to the guild. Never listening one last serious, friendly word from Warrod, or never having another vast conversation with Percht. But most of all, she regretted never getting to apologize to Yuryi and baby Makarov. That would be something that would haunt her forever.

"I don't think my answer it's important" she replied, dryly.

Zeref grinned again "It probably isn't at this point" he agreed "But maybe then you would be able to understand why I have chosen my brother to be the one to kill me."

Mavis, actually could find a reason, amidst all that atrocity. But even then it was awful.

"He's a just a kid, Zeref".

Zeref chuckled a little before saying "No, he's not anymore" again, the contradiction was winning the battle "Now, he's the ultimate demon I have created. E. N. D."

"E. N. D?" she asked, not thinking much about it.

"A suitable name for the one who's going to finally _end_ my life…" he expressed, in a good mood.

Mavis felt the air thicken around them. She then went near the capsule and took a look at the boy inside it; he was a little, tiny and innocent boy. His spiky, pink hair danced gracefully in the liquid inside the strange cubicle. His eyes remained close, and as she got closer she could recognize Zeref in that kid's features.

Her heart ached at the thought that little boy was doomed to fulfilled such a cruel destiny, like killing his own brother and becoming a monster.

"Your actions have certainly become contradictions, Zeref" she sentenced, gravely "How could you say you love him if you're condemning him to something like being a demon?"

"Maybe you're right _again_ , Mavis" he granted, returning at his nostalgic, almost blue humor "But love itself is the greatest contradiction. Once you feel love, you also taste the bitterness of hatred and sorrow. You taught me that."

The girl said nothing.

"It's coming, Mavis; the day of my fall. Everything's prepared. Natsu is ready now… and someday he will be strong enough to defeat me and _end_ this pain I've been through since Ankhseram cursed me… since the day I lost you…"

Mavis's mind remained static in one single thing _"Natsu"._

" _Etherious_ Natsu Dragneel" Zeref corrected, with a calm smile.

"You're being reckless" she assessed.

"I don't care anymore" the sorcerer said.

The pain in her glance couldn't reach Zeref's senses. She should have known. He told her, he advised her back then. But as always, she was naïve, and gullible. She believed she could save him from himself. She couldn't. She couldn't even save herself.

But she would be able to save the boy inside the cabin.

"If that's your last word, then there's nothing I can do to change it" she asserted "Just let me ask you one last question."

Zeref kept silence, waiting for her to continue.

"What about that country of yours? What are you planning and what does Natsu has to do with that?"

The raven-haired boy outlined a new, nostalgic smile "You'll know when the time comes".

Mavis put her hand in the cabin, staring at the child inside it. Then, she began to levitate undertaking her departure.

"Goodbye, Mavis" he murmured, knowing that maybe he wouldn't be able to talk to her in a long time.

"Farewell, Zeref" she replied, as flatly as her emotions could pretend.

He felt the moment her essence left the place. When he was sure he was completely alone, he allowed himself to sigh and returned his eyes to Natsu.

"She doesn't understand, Natsu" he explained in a sweet, gentle tone "She doesn't have to, anyway. She is _dead_ , after all…"

"But soon it will be my turn. _You_ will be the one to free me from this agony… right? Natsu… E. N. D?"

As the dark mage finished pronouncing those last words, the boy's eyes gradually began to open.

Zeref widened his smile.

"It's time…"

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Well, that was my first Zervis job. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I've always loved this couple; I even shipped them before Mashima-sensei trolled us with chapter 450...  
Anyway, maybe it will have some mistake, sorry if that happens, but, I'm going to tell you, I'm not an english native speaker, I'm trying to learn the language, so I hope I did a good job.  
Leave your comments, suggestions, and opinions, they will be welcome.  
Don't be so harsh on me, I'm trying my best to write english, and I love this ship, and this manga, so... GOD, I'm still upset about what happened.

Also, the events in this story can be mistaken, I'm not sure about in what time did Zeref released Natsu and if Mavis know about the situation, but this is my hypothesis. I hope you like it!  
Well, that's all.

Love you, guys.


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